New players actually read the disc data faster than you’re listening to it by buffering it, then committing a little of the song ahead to RAM memory. Many of today’s CD players have found remedies and workarounds for this, so you can freely move about or drive over potholes without missing a beat. Taking your favorite tunes around with you didn’t mean much if the disc was being jostled with every step or bump in the road. One of the biggest was skipping, which wasn’t only irritating, but also incredibly limiting too, always having to make sure you were keeping the player steady and from getting knocked around. Thanks to the vast improvements, the best portable CD players have integrated new tech to fix some of the problems of the past. Younger fans who were raised on streaming and digital are discovering how much better their favorite albums sound when played off a physical disc, and older fans are eager to dust off their collection of discs to try out in new players.īut these aren’t just clones of the same CD players from 20 years ago though. They took a tumble from the top, but two decades on, CDs – and portable CD players – are clawing their way to an unlikely comeback among a growing niche of listeners, much like vinyls have done. Right around the turn of the millennium, compact discs went from the main source of listening to music, to almost obsolete. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

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